Voice of Americahttp://www.voanews.com Voice of America is an international news and broadcast organization serving Central and Eastern Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and Balkan countrieshttp://www.voanews.com/img/voa/rssLogo_VOA.gifVoice of Americahttp://www.voanews.com en-US2012 - VOA60Tue, 03 Mar 2015 14:21:22 -0500Pangea CMS – VOAZimbabwe's President Celebrates 91st BirthdayZimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe has celebrated his 91st birthday by hinting the government might seize some of the remaining white-owned land in his country.
Those are members of Zimbabwe's police band singing Happy Birthday for President Robert Mugabe’s 91st birthday party in the resort town of Victoria Falls, more than 900 kilometers southwest of the capital, Harare. The lavish affair, attended by thousands of ruling party supporters, was held on the golf course of a luxury...http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-president-celebrates-91st-birthday/2662954.html http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-president-celebrates-91st-birthday/2662954.htmlSat, 28 Feb 2015 12:45:22 -0500Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-president-celebrates-91st-birthday/2662954.html#relatedInfoContainerZimbabwe Asks African Bank for Debt ReliefZimbabwe’s finance minister has appealed to visiting African Development Bank executives for debt relief, in an effort to boost the country’s ailing economy.
Patrick Chinamasa made the appeal Monday to an AfDB team visiting Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
Chinamasa says the Zimbabwe government hopes if the AfDB cancels its debt, other organizations such as the IMF and World Bank will do the same.
“In our meeting I have emphasized that the African Development Bank should play a...http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-asks-african-bank-for-debt-relief/2655158.html http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-asks-african-bank-for-debt-relief/2655158.htmlMon, 23 Feb 2015 12:22:30 -0500Economywebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-asks-african-bank-for-debt-relief/2655158.html#relatedInfoContainerConservationists Battle for Lions in ZimbabweA group of conservationists is breeding lions in the Southern African nation of Zimbabwe in an effort to stave off possible extinction as humans and these great cats fight for land.
At the Antelope Park Farm in Gweru, the main business is lion breeding.
The African Lion and Environmental Research Trust - ALERT - has more than 100 lions in the program.
Gary Jones, who heads Antelope Park Farm, said ALERT has stepped in because of a drastic drop in the lion population, caused mostly...http://www.voanews.com/content/conservationists-battle-for-lions-in-zimbabwe/2643193.html http://www.voanews.com/content/conservationists-battle-for-lions-in-zimbabwe/2643193.htmlFri, 13 Feb 2015 13:18:46 -0500Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/conservationists-battle-for-lions-in-zimbabwe/2643193.html#relatedInfoContainerHRW: Zimbabwe Flood Victims Pushed Into ResettlementA Human Rights Watch investigation alleges 20,000 Zimbabwean flood victims, displaced in February 2014, were commandeered as cheap labor to serve President Robert Mugabe’s energy business interests. Zimbabwe's government has broken several African Union conventions on the rights and protection of internally displaced peoples, according to the report.
Torrential rains a year ago caused flooding in several villages near the partially constructed Tokwe-Mukosi dam - in Masvingo province...http://www.voanews.com/content/hrw-zimbabwe-flood-victims-pushed-into-resettlement/2626043.html http://www.voanews.com/content/hrw-zimbabwe-flood-victims-pushed-into-resettlement/2626043.htmlTue, 03 Feb 2015 10:17:35 -0500Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Gillian Parker, Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/hrw-zimbabwe-flood-victims-pushed-into-resettlement/2626043.html#relatedInfoContainerZimbabwe Farmers Decry Land Grab for First Lady's Game ParkZimbabwe confirmed it is releasing wild game in an effort to push about 200 families off farmland where first lady Grace Mugabe wants to set up a new game park. But the families at Manzou farm insist they will stay on the land where they have lived for more than a decade.
Police destroyed their homes earlier this month, in the middle of the rainy season. Now the farmers are worried that zebras roaming around on their land are grazing their crops.
"But there is...http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-farmers-decry-land-grab-for-first-ladys-game-park/2618649.html http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-farmers-decry-land-grab-for-first-ladys-game-park/2618649.htmlThu, 29 Jan 2015 13:15:41 -0500Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-farmers-decry-land-grab-for-first-ladys-game-park/2618649.html#relatedInfoContainerZimbabwe Teens Take Government to Court Over Marriage AgeThe Southern African nation of Zimbabwe has long been known as a “hot spot” for child marriages. The United Nations says that as many as 31 percent of Zimbabwean girls are married before the age of 18. But two such girls say enough is enough, and are challenging the government at the highest levels to lift the age of consent for girls to 18.
Loveness Mudzuru and Ruvimbo Tsopodzi were just girls when they were married and gave birth for the first time.
Now the pair is...http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-teens-take-government-to-court-over-marriage-age/2600904.html http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-teens-take-government-to-court-over-marriage-age/2600904.htmlFri, 16 Jan 2015 08:11:08 -0500Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-teens-take-government-to-court-over-marriage-age/2600904.html#relatedInfoContainerZimbabwe Seeks Help After FloodingThe Zimbabwean Red Cross says about 800 families have been evacuated from northern parts of the country, after they were marooned by heavy flooding over the weekend.
Zimbabwe has witnessed incessant rains during the past week, resulting in floods in some parts of the country.
On Sunday, police said a family of eight drowned after a car they were traveling in was swept away as they tried to cross a flooded river about 100 kilometers southwest of Harare.
In the north, the...http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-seeks-help-flooding/2586272.html http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-seeks-help-flooding/2586272.htmlMon, 05 Jan 2015 12:18:20 -0500Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-seeks-help-flooding/2586272.html#relatedInfoContainerZimbabwe, Zambia Promote Univisa to Increase TourismZimbabwe and Zambia have introduced a single, shared visa to lure tourists to the mighty Victoria Falls that spans their border.
If the pilot project proves successful in six months, Angola, Botswana and Namibia are set to join the program, and other countries in the region may join later.
However, the plan could face resistance from countries such as South Africa.
Citizens of Canada, Japan, the United States, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Russia, France, Australia, Sweden and...http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-zambia-promote-univisa-to-increase-tourism/2538295.html http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-zambia-promote-univisa-to-increase-tourism/2538295.htmlFri, 28 Nov 2014 12:37:36 -0500Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-zambia-promote-univisa-to-increase-tourism/2538295.html#relatedInfoContainerZimbabwe 'Waiting Homes' Aim to Improve Maternal CareIn some remote Zimbabwean districts, local communities and governments have created "maternity waiting homes" at hospitals, where expecting mothers can stay during the last six weeks of their pregnancies. The homes, built with European Union funding, are aimed at reducing maternal mortality and educating new mothers about how to look after their newborns.
That is Nomalanga, a newborn child crying at St. Luke’s Hospital in the Lupane district, about 600 kilometers southwest of...http://www.voanews.com/content/waiting-homes-improve-maternal-care-in-zimbabwe/2527767.html http://www.voanews.com/content/waiting-homes-improve-maternal-care-in-zimbabwe/2527767.htmlThu, 20 Nov 2014 10:58:05 -0500Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/waiting-homes-improve-maternal-care-in-zimbabwe/2527767.html#relatedInfoContainerAU Mulls Size, Composition of Projected Standby ForceThe African Union Commission’s Peace and Security Department is meeting in Zimbabwe as part of efforts to create an African Standby Force. The envisioned force would play a peacekeeping role of sorts, responding to political emergencies around the continent to maintain stability.
General Samaila Iliya is leading the process of ensuring that there is African Standby Force, or ASF, by the target date of April of next year.
The Nigerian general noted the idea of a standby...http://www.voanews.com/content/au-mulls-size-composition-of-projected-standby-force/2506167.html http://www.voanews.com/content/au-mulls-size-composition-of-projected-standby-force/2506167.htmlMon, 03 Nov 2014 11:44:07 -0500Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/au-mulls-size-composition-of-projected-standby-force/2506167.html#relatedInfoContainerCDC Director for Zimbabwe Says Country Ready for Ebola The Zimbabwe country director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has returned to the country after a tour of duty as an Ebola Response Team Leader in Sierra Leone.
The CDC director for Zimbabwe, Dr. Peter Kilmarx, says West Africa was hit by Ebola when it was least expecting it. Therefore, it has taken time to contain it.
He said in the part of Sierra Leone he visited, more than 80 percent of the population is living on less than $2 a day and that...http://www.voanews.com/content/cdc-director-zimbabwe-country-ready-ebola/2498043.html http://www.voanews.com/content/cdc-director-zimbabwe-country-ready-ebola/2498043.htmlMon, 27 Oct 2014 12:47:51 -0400Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/cdc-director-zimbabwe-country-ready-ebola/2498043.html#relatedInfoContainerZimbabwe's First Lady Tells Vice President to ResignZimbabwe’s first lady, Grace Mugabe, has publicly called on the country’s vice president to resign, accusing her of corruption and incompetence. The first lady also has suggested for the first time that she may want to become president, following in the footsteps of her 90-year-old husband, Robert Mugabe.
At a meeting with the leaders of Zimbabwe’s war veterans' organization on Thursday, First Lady Grace Mugabe hinted for the first time that she wants to succeed her husband, who has...http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-first-lady-tells-vice-president-to-resign/2494203.html http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-first-lady-tells-vice-president-to-resign/2494203.htmlThu, 23 Oct 2014 14:38:28 -0400Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-first-lady-tells-vice-president-to-resign/2494203.html#relatedInfoContainerZimbabweans See Mugabe's Wife Angling for PowerThe wife of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is leading a series of ZANU-PF unity rallies around the country as part of an effort to lead the women's wing of the ruling party.
But some observers her efforts are actually part of a power-play to win the presidency when her 90-year-old husband steps down or passes away.
At a recent ZANU-PF rally in Harare, people sing their praise on Grace Mugabe's arrival.
“If there is no love, peace and unity nothing succeeds," she...http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabweans-see-mugabes-wife-angling-for-power/2479443.html http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabweans-see-mugabes-wife-angling-for-power/2479443.htmlFri, 10 Oct 2014 09:32:21 -0400Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabweans-see-mugabes-wife-angling-for-power/2479443.html#relatedInfoContainerAfrica Leaders Urge UN to Help Relocate Rwandan Hutu Rebels Leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) want the United Nations to assist in removing members of a Rwandan rebel group from eastern Congo.
The 15-member bloc made the appeal at the end of a two-day summit in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
The leaders of southern African countries also resolved to speed up the industrialization of their countries to fight poverty.
They said the region was “generally peaceful and stable,” but appealed to the United...http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-leaders-urge-un-to-help-relocate-rwandan-hutu-rebels/2417547.html http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-leaders-urge-un-to-help-relocate-rwandan-hutu-rebels/2417547.htmlMon, 18 Aug 2014 14:28:12 -0400Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-leaders-urge-un-to-help-relocate-rwandan-hutu-rebels/2417547.html#relatedInfoContainerMugabe: Southern Africa Must Reduce Reliance on Foreign AidZimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Sunday urged southern Africa to move away from “over-reliance” on foreign aid at a two-day summit being held in Zimbabwe.
The 90-year-old leader spoke Sunday after taking the chairmanship of the 15-member Southern African Development Community (SADC).
Mugabe, who will lead SADC for the next 12 months, said southern Africa must use its natural resources such as minerals and land. The region has the world’s largest platinum deposits and supplies...http://www.voanews.com/content/sadc-leaders-summit-opens-in-zimbabwe/2416265.html http://www.voanews.com/content/sadc-leaders-summit-opens-in-zimbabwe/2416265.htmlSun, 17 Aug 2014 11:31:18 -0400Economywebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/sadc-leaders-summit-opens-in-zimbabwe/2416265.html#relatedInfoContainerAfrica Civic Groups Demand Action on Unemployment, Poverty Civic organizations in southern Africa are calling on their governments to take action to relieve unemployment, inequality and poverty in the region.
The call was made Friday at a People's SADC Summit, ahead of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit that opens in Zimbabwe on Sunday.
"If SADC is to be really relevant and responsive, they need to be in touch with the people," said Dalitso Kubalasa, spokesman for the Southern African Civic...http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-civic-groups-demand-action-on-unemployment-poverty/2414895.html http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-civic-groups-demand-action-on-unemployment-poverty/2414895.htmlFri, 15 Aug 2014 13:57:06 -0400Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/africa-civic-groups-demand-action-on-unemployment-poverty/2414895.html#relatedInfoContainerEbola Fears Cloud Jehovah's Witnesses Meeting in Zimbabwe Zimbabwe's government is in a quandary as the country prepares to host a three-day Jehovah's Witnesses conference with 50,000 people from around the world expected to attend. Some delegates will come from West Africa, where there has been an outbreak of Ebola. Given the state of the host’s health care system, however, some delegates might be barred from attending.
Dr. Christopher Tapfumaneyi, the principal director in Zimbabwe’s health ministry, says the country...http://www.voanews.com/content/ebola-fears-cloud-jehova-witness-meeting-in-zimbabwe/2413748.html http://www.voanews.com/content/ebola-fears-cloud-jehova-witness-meeting-in-zimbabwe/2413748.htmlThu, 14 Aug 2014 15:15:47 -0400Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)Mugabe's Wife Poised to Take Role in Zimbabwe's Ruling PartyZimbabwe's first lady, Lady Grace Mugabe, is set to become part of the ruling party's highest-decision making body and possibly the country’s next president.
And analysts say the move could dent the chances of Vice President Joice Mujuru succeeding 90-year-old President Robert Mugabe when his term ends.
Two out of three key organs in Zimbabwe's ruling ZANU-PF party in recent days nominated Mrs. Mugabe to lead the party's women’s section. That puts her in line to be in...http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-president-mugabe-wife-grace-to-join-zanu-pf/2407661.html http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-president-mugabe-wife-grace-to-join-zanu-pf/2407661.htmlFri, 08 Aug 2014 15:03:36 -0400Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/zimbabwe-president-mugabe-wife-grace-to-join-zanu-pf/2407661.html#relatedInfoContainerZimbabwe's Mugabe Excluded from US-Africa Summit U.S. President Barack Obama is hosting a summit of African leaders in an effort to strengthen American ties with the continent. But Zimbabwe, which desperately needs investment from abroad, will not be represented because of President Robert Mugabe's tainted human rights record.
Trade and investment issues are an important part of the three-day U.S.-Africa summit taking place this week in Washington.
Talking to African journalists by telephone ahead of the meeting, U.S....http://www.voanews.com/content/zimabawe-mugabe-excluded-from-us-africa-summit/1971435.html http://www.voanews.com/content/zimabawe-mugabe-excluded-from-us-africa-summit/1971435.htmlMon, 04 Aug 2014 15:05:56 -0400Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/zimabawe-mugabe-excluded-from-us-africa-summit/1971435.html#relatedInfoContainerHampered by Cost, Zimbabweans Skip ContraceptivesZimbabwe's ailing economy appears to be impacting the use of contraceptives in that country, according to statistics released by the United Nations Population Fund.
The research, conducted for the UN and the government of Zimbabwe, found that thousands of women are getting pregnant each year because they cannot afford proper birth control methods.
"I think the data show that there are lot of women, 60 percent, who do not want to get pregnant again, but aren't using...http://www.voanews.com/content/hampered-by-cost-zimbabweans-skip-contraceptives/1958863.html http://www.voanews.com/content/hampered-by-cost-zimbabweans-skip-contraceptives/1958863.htmlWed, 16 Jul 2014 13:19:32 -0400Africawebdesk@voanews.com (Sebastian Mhofu)http://www.voanews.com/content/hampered-by-cost-zimbabweans-skip-contraceptives/1958863.html#relatedInfoContainer